The Secret Trio
by JuneLuxray2
Summary: A strange ghost alchemist, after years of isolation, creates and sends out an army of ghost imps to Earth. His exact motives unknown and unable to face the situation alone, Danny Fenton, Randy Cunningham, and Jake Long team up to stop him. Though unsure of each other, they must learn to work together in time. ((Crossover of RC9GN, DP, and AD:JL. Cover art by Spectral Ninja.))
1. Chapter 1

**This fanfic will be updated once a week on Fridays until the end of the story. I hope you like it.**

A stained copper cauldron fizzled and hissed. A bubbling, thick crimson mixture was swirled by a wooden spoon held by a gnarled, thin, and jaundiced fist. The fist was covered in lacerations, bumps, and callouses. The mixture was becoming thicker and harder to stir. Finally, it ate away at the spoon, forcing the fist to release it. It fell, fractured, and disappeared into the mix. Bright orange eyes observing from under a pitch black hood did not waver as the hand retracted and he watched in silence.

This was taking place in a single room stocked with all sorts of ingredients lining overfilled walls and shelves, some bottles spilled on the floor. The single room was part of a relatively small bastion with one tall tower floating on a rock island in the vast plane that was the Ghost Zone. The bastion was a bit smaller than Skulker's island, heavily fortified by barbed wire, gnarled thorns, and sharp, black metal spikes. No one, living or dead, had dared go near it in decades. It looked like a rather small castle, what should have been noble and majestic like the centuries-old castles of Europe. Alas, ivy had crawled upon and between the stony bricks, which were long since faded. It was unkempt and unsanitary, and the dweller inside had not a care to clean it up at all.

The inside was worse than the outside; murky, dank, and humid. Dust and cobwebs gathered in corners and from light fixtures freely. In fact, the small single room where a mixture was being created was, in all its stains and spills, the cleanest part of the entire bastion. It was where the resident ghost spent all his time without a sound other than the sounds of popping, fizzling, and gurgling from a cauldron.

A cauldron worked on by the dweller hissed and began to subside for only a moment before boiling over. The mixture overfilled its pot, and the alchemist backed away. Bubbles popped and foam climbed out of its home and finally it stopped and the pot overturned, all liquid spilling out onto the floor. The ghost didn't acknowledge the spill, and rather stared into the pot expectantly.

Two orbs of white opened, and a ghastly creature climbed out. It was only about four feet long, ears pricked and long like an elf's. The creature's eyes had no pupils, only pure snow white orbs. Four fangs were protruding from behind the lips, two upper ones and two lower ones between the upper fangs. For such a small creature, its arms were thick and tough, legs the same.

The hairless imp finally croaked a gasp of its first breath of air and looked towards its creator. The creator's face was hidden by his cloak, glowing eyes only casting a minimal glow over his features. "...Master," it hacked out, "what are my orders?"

"Go fetch all the cauldrons from the cabinet. I've got for you a recipe to create in each one." The responding voice was gravelly and low. He waved a hand and pieces of parchment appeared and hung in the air. "Follow these recipes exactly and report to me when you are done. For now, I'll be on the opposite side of my citadel, working on a portal to Norrisville and Amity Park. When you're done, I'll explain to you my plan. Make this-" he pointed to one of the recipes, "-first. I need a few assistants to aid in my portal creation. Then I want you to make some of your kind to continuously make soldiers. Report to me when those soldier-makers are operating."

"Yes, sir."

"You have your orders." He floated away and the imp set to work creating more of creatures like himself: completely vile monsters. The purpose for such a thing was unknown, but he didn't have to have a purpose for his actions. He was created to follow orders, and nothing more. At the moment still a nameless being, he hauled a cauldron out of the nearby closet, taking care not to slip on any of the many multicolored spills on the floor.

The creator of the creature phased through rooms and to the opposite side of his castle. Inside were two nearly complete portals and one halfway done. Each one had a label to where they went on the underside of their rims. The portals were merely circular metal pieces outlining an empty center, about two feet wider than the proto-portal the Fentons had made twenty years prior.

Attention was turned to the portal labeled for Norrisville. He tinkered with it for awhile and finally when he deemed it ready, the gnarled hand was lifted and waved over the portal. It began to glow and hiss, and a swirling green vortex filled the inside. The resulting prideful smirk that came to the ghost's face was obscured. As he turned his attention to the next one to Amity Park, smaller versions of the first imp phased through the wall, waiting orders. They were about three feet tall, a foot shorter than his first creation, blankly staring at him. They bore a different skin tone than the first of their kind; theirs was a more mottled, sickly green tone.

The ghost pointed to the New York portal. "Get to work now. Schematics are taped to the wall."

They obeyed without a single word and began their labor. Attention returned to the Amity Park portal, the alchemist's eyes were alight with delight. His time was neigh, and so was his return and revenge. He plucked at a few wires and gears of the Amity Park portal, and finally he waved his hand and it, too, came to life. Rather pleased with his work, he turned his attention to the New York City portal. The imps were working hastily on it, picking and pulling at pieces and mechanisms of it, following directions exactly. He stood back, hands behind his back, in silence.

Feeling he earned a short break, he sat down in the room and observed. Within another hour, the first imp phased through the wall and looked to his master. "The task has been completed. All your soldiers are waiting for your word."

"Wonderful. As for the portals, right now the New York portal is coming along slower than planned, so we'll have to settle for the next few days on the other two completed portals." He looked directly at the little monster he made. "Since you have behaved well so far, I think I shall make you my personal assistant. Your name is now...Ensio." He turned his head back to the portal and got up off his feet. The alchemist strolled up and gingerly slid his hand over the currently inoperative New York portal silently. Ensio frowned and slowly approached, trying not to offend his master with his next question. "Sire, if you don't mind my asking, why have we have a portal to Amity Park? There is one already made not too far away from here. We could just use that one."

"Ensio, that one leads straight into the lair of ghost hunters. Not only will we be immediately located, they can shut off the entrance. I had to labor to make one myself."

"Ah, yes, foolish of me."

"We are all fools at times, and you were one now. Forgivable." He clucked his tongue. "Alright, the plan. Yes. I said I would tell you." He turned to his personal assistant. "Yes, yes...here is the plan indeed..." He spoke, no one else but Ensio in earshot. As the alchemist spoke, his eyes turned a mysterious white. No one to stop them before they caused havoc, no one suspecting a thing was about to happen at all. Just as it was planned to be.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been two days since the alchemist had laid out his plans, and the imps had immediately become a nuisance for Norrisville, Amity Park, and surrounding cities. More and more places were getting hit; cars and valuables ransacked and destroyed, damages to buildings increasing. Whenever the creatures had been fought off, they disappeared into thin air without so much as a trace or a hint.

They then came back the next day. Worse yet, no one knew where they were coming from and why they were attacking at all, and Norrisville and Amity Park were among the most attacked. The heroes of each respective place were frustrated; at least once a day they'd be attacked by them, fight them off, and then they'd disappear. Couldn't do a thing about it.

In Norrisville, Randy Cunningham and Howard Weinerman crowded in Randy's room as the Ninja lamented the situation. "I don't get it, Howard," he groused, tugging at his hair with an eye twitching, "they're not robots or stanked kids. What do I do? I can't just keep letting it happen. It's my duty as the Ninja."

Howard rolled his eyes. "Why are you asking me, Randy? What the juice are they, anyways? They're like elves or even ghosts or something and they just disappear when hit. I have no idea what to do." His eyes fell on the Nomicon in Randy's lap. "Have you looked in there yet?"

Randy looked down at it and then blinked, a bit embarrassed. "Um...actually...no."

"Then what the juice, man? Open it." Howard insisted. The Nomicon flashed and Randy opened it hastily. Immediately his eyes went crossed, jaw loose, and his head fell onto it. He found himself falling through it, through words and images and ending by landing on a rough dirt ground. With a blink, he sighed and stood up. He brushed himself off and spoke.

"Nomicon, I don't know what these things are. They're not usual Sorcerer-grade stanked people. In fact, they're not stanked people at all. I don't know where they're coming from and I don't know _why_ they're coming. What do I do?"

An image formed a little ways away from him and Randy watched in silence, crossing his arms. There was a ninja who pulled off his mask, revealing a young man no more than seventeen years old. He had curly dark brown hair and gray eyes, and he was muscled and toned. His clothes were very old fashioned; brown coat, breeches, and white culottes. A young woman appeared beside him, with blonde hair curled tightly against her scalp, hair not powdered. Her dress was fairly simple, light gray close-bodied gown.

Another man, this one also with a dancing partner, appeared. The girl with him argued and then stormed off, leaving the man heartbroken. With a puff of green smoke, he was stanked, transforming him into a colossal monster, tearing at his fine suit. Cockily, young man who happened to be the ninja of the time's voice became heard. The voice was booming and yet silvery. "I can best this monster without the suit. Watch me."

"William, no," the woman pleaded, her voice tremulous, "without it, you will die."

"Victoria, my darling, you must trust me as I have trusted you with my secret all these years."

"Will-" Her pleas fell upon deaf ears as he tossed the mask into her hands and faced the stanked man. Randy's eyes widened.

"Oh, that is not a good idea. He's not really gonna try that is he?...He's not, right?"

William stabbed the monster in the knee with a dagger. It roared, lifted its fist up, and Randy gasped and looked away as it came down. "Is it over? 'Cause that can't have been a pretty scene."

He received no answer and opened his eyes. The last image was Victoria nervously facing the monster when the mask flashed. Hesitantly, she pulled it over her head, transforming her immediately into the new Ninja. It faded and the scene was gone, and although slightly interested by the tale, he gave an irritated groan. "Come on, Nomicon, what does that have to do with the...thingies?"

Another image formed, this time of William's spirit flying through the Ghost Zone. Randy cocked his head. "Where is he?"

Arrows surrounded the image, and the words Ghost Zone came up. "What's a Ghost Zone?"

The Nomicon chose to ignore Randy finally and went on with the scene. The ghost, wailing and floating aimlessly, passed by green globs of ectoplasm and screeched for help. None of the passing by ghosts even bothered to look at him. Further frustrated, he continued his screaming. "Victoria! Victoria, where are you? Where am I? What happened?"

Desperately, he flew until he came across an abandoned castle on a floating rock island. He stopped and examined it, and then flew inside. The inside was clean and sparkling, as if it was a lair just for him. It was beautiful, fancy and glittering, but he did not care. Finally, he fell to his knees in desperation and pulled a robe hanging on the wall over his head. The scene faded away and a new one came up. This time it was of the man looking more emaciated and stirring a cauldron. The cauldron toppled over and the first imp tumbled out. Although frightened and saddened by the scene, Randy tried to brush it off as best he could. He cleared his throat and spoke, unfolding his arms.

"Oh, so he's a ghost and he's angry and crazy? Piece of cake, just tell me how to get there and-"

Finally all images disappeared and words came up. Randy read aloud. "To fight an ex-Ninja, you must ally yourself with the Ghost and the Dragon." He frowned. "Alright, but, um, who are the ghost and the dragon?"

The words faded and Randy felt himself being pulled away, like being sucked through a tube. He woke up back in his room, head shooting up and narrowly missing knocking his head against his overhanging bed. The Ninja looked to Howard, who was still engaged in the McFist pad. "Howard!" he yelled quickly.

Howard nearly dropped the device in surprise, forgetting Randy had been there at all. He composed himself and paused the game. "Yeah, what did the Nomicon tell you? What's happening and what do we do?"

"Well, um, there was this guy who got stanked a few hundred years ago and the Ninja of that time tried to fight without using the suit to show off to his girlfriend or something and he got killed and-"

"Get to the point, Cunningham. What's going on?" Howard snapped impatiently. Randy nodded.

"You're right. Basically, in this place I don't know called the Ghost Zone, there's a crazy evil Ninja who's plotting to destroy us all because he died fighting a stanked dude without the suit."

"Wait, _where_ now?" Howard's eyes were slowly widening.

"Some place called the Ghost Zone." He didn't understand Howard's sudden fascination with that term. Howard's eyes got wider and his jaw dropped in shock.

"We're fighting ghosts now? That's...that sounds like something Danny Phantom should be doing. Shouldn't we get to him about this?"

Randy gave him an odd look. "What, weird ghost guy that's hours away from us in a town that's creepier than creepy? I mean..." Suddenly his eyes widened and he shot up on his feet. "Oh my gosh, Howard, oh my gosh!"

Howard gave him a nonplussed look. "What? What, tell me! Tell me, dude!" he insisted, shaking Randy from his reverie, pulling him back and forth with his shirt. Randy did his best to calm himself, briskly clasping his hands together.

"Okay, so, along with that, the Nomicon said I had to ally myself with 'the ghost and the dragon.' That must be it! I have to ally myself with Danny Phantom!" He slapped his face in realization. "That actually makes sense for once! Amity Park is the other place getting hit, and that guy must be it!"

"That's great," Howard said, "but who's the dragon?"

"I have no idea. Maybe Phantom knows."

"Cunningham," Howard said, starting to calm down from all the excitement, "are we sure we should go for finding him? Because there's been some mixed reports about him lately. Can we trust him?"

"The Nomicon trusts him. And I don't think we really have a choice. Oh, this is so _bruce!_" Randy continued talking, back turned to the rest of his cluttered room. Howard then noticed a small and yet expanding floating green light behind him. He nervously frowned.

"Uh, Randy?"

"...I wonder if he knows about the Ninja?..."

"Cunningham?"

"...Of course he must know about the Ninja, what am I saying?..."

Howard lost his patience. "_Randy Cunningham!_" The use of the full name woke up his best friend, who looked at him with a kind and patient smile.

"Yes, Howard?"

He said nothing and pointed behind Randy. Randy slowly turned his head, smile dissipating. Both watched in confusion and fear as the green light opened wider yet. As a figure began to pull himself out of it, both boys whispered two words.

"Holy _cheese._" They both murmured, clinging to each other in awe.


	3. Chapter 3

**Forgot to queue on tumblr, so here, have the new chapter early.**

"Gramps, why are we looking through books and not fighting?"

In the back of Canal Street Electronics shop, multiple large stacks of old, possibly ancient, magic books surrounded everyone. Most of them were originally in different languages (many varied in language) but thanks to a spell from Fu, they were translated to English. Jake, Trixie, Spud, Fu Dog, and Luong Lao Shi were all plucking through them for an answer to the ghost imps. There were creatures like them in the magical community, but not the same size, and not the same colors these ones had. And not ghosts, for that matter, and much less malevolent. Their only option was to look through countless old books in hopes of some sort of record.

Jake's mentor did not look up from the book he was browsing through. "Jake, you know why." he said dryly, flipping a page. Trixie looked toward him.

"But that psychic girl Sara said that those creatures were coming to New York City next. We should be prepping first and researching later." she protested. Again did Grandpa not look up as he replied.

"Patience," he said, although his own patience was starting to wear thin, "preparation without knowing how to prepare can be of no use and ultimately lost time."

With a snort from Trixie, they continued their very dull search. Books were pushed aside as no relevant information was garnered from them. Once or twice someone sneezed from collected dust on the books, but it was silent and tense. Jake and his friends were tempted to protest more about the lack of action and rather a search they did not know would result in anything. Alas, they knew the efforts would fail hopelessly. The magical world outside the shop was also seeking answers, and they were just another group trying for a solution.

Finally, after another hour of looking, one of them found part of the answer.

"I think I found something." Spud announced. Within seconds everyone was crowded around his book. On the page was a model of the very things attacking as of late, and a potion recipe for creating them. "Says here there's a legend that a really long time ago, some sorcerer or something created this recipe, made his own army, and tried to attack the Dragon Council with it. It failed when, um..." He scrutinized it. "...three warriors united and combined their power to defeat him."

"Who are the three warriors?" Fu Dog asked.

"A ghost, a ninja, and a dragon." Spud looked up. "Aren't, like, the places being hit the most have a ghost and a ninja?"

"Yes, but according to the text, this took place before Danny Phantom and the Ninja were even around." Jake pointed out. "The Ninja's been around for...how long?"

"Eight hundred years." Lao Shi answered, "His or her existence has been continuously under observation by the magical community. But before then, there were ninjas."

"Just less prolific ones." Fu Dog interjected. Trixie got hold of the book from Spud and analyzed it carefully.

"I don't understand, though; these aren't _described_ as ghost imps."

"The recipe would have to be remade from centuries of trial and error to remake it if the creator didn't have the book, right?" Jake guessed. Fu nodded.

"Bingo. And with a little improvisation with a dash of ectoplasm, you could get them as ghosts." he confirmed. Jake grinned.

"Then we've got to find that Danny Phantom guy and the current Ninja!"

"I don't think that's a good idea," Lao Shi said. "Danny Phantom is recent to public eyes, and the Dragon Council has wanted to speak with him as soon as he became public. He's ignorant of the magical world's existence, flighty, and hard to catch. We don't know enough about him to trust him."

"I don't think any of us have a choice." Fu Dog refuted, "Not to mention, if we get his help and we can trust him, I bet he'll be willing to speak with the council. We need all the help we can get."

"Well, until he comes here first, I say no. We also need to get this book to the council straight away." Lao Shi said. Spud pulled over his laptop.

"Yeah, sure, just let me copy some of the stuff on here for our reference."

"No! If this information falls into the wrong hands, easily obtained from your computer, this could just get worse." Lao Shiprotested. Jake groaned and crossed his arms.

"But G, what if we need to see it and the council has it? What if we need to get to it?"

"No."

"Aww, man!"

Lao Shi took the book and placed it on a table top. He heard the door front open and he hopped off his stool and went out front to meet the customer. As soon as he couldn't see what was going on, Fu Dog lifted a paw up to his lips to tell the teenagers to be quiet. Quickly he pulled a potion off one of the shelves and a piece of paper, dabbed the potion onto it, and placed it onto the book. He set it for a minute and then pulled it off. The book was fine and an exact replica came onto the page. Fu Dog handed it to Jake, who stuffed it into a pocket.

"Don't you kids go telling Gramps I did that. And he's right, be careful with it. Dangerous information."

"Gotcha. Thanks, Fu."

"Don't mention-"

"_**Jake!**_" Lao Shi's voice came. Jake was off on his feet and with his friends dashed into the front of the shop and all stopped short, smacking into each other. They stared at an embarrassed-looking Danny Phantom, who awkwardly waved.

"Uh, hi?" he asked more than said weakly.


	4. Chapter 4

The Ghost Zone was eerily quiet, at least more than usual. Sure, there was the occasional howling or booing or other lovely notes in the air, but those were absent. Not a single one other than Danny himself had been spotted, and all were in their lairs and weren't coming out anytime soon. By now Danny and his friends could expect to be pestered by at least one or two ghosts, but no, not a soul even came near them.

Sam and Tucker manned the Specter Speeder as Danny floated ahead of them to keep an eye out for dangers. He dodged a glob of ectoplasm floating above and pulled the mic attached to his headphones closer. "Where is everyone?"

"I don't know. Ever since those goblin...monster...things started attacking daily, they've been absent." Sam said, playing with a ghost radar that only picked up her friend. Tucker turned the wheel as Danny turned a corner around a small door.

"Maybe they're hiding?" he suggested. Danny shrugged.

"That's the weird thing. Why are they hiding? I mean, they're irritating, destructive, and hostile, but they're not too difficult to defeat."

"Actually, they are." Sam countered, "They keep coming back over and over again in full force, as if they'd never been defeated at all. That makes them difficult and a threat."

"You're right." Danny replied.

"I'm always right." Sam said with a laugh.

"That you are." The ghost boy smiled at her and she blushed slightly.

Tucker sighed at the exchange. "Lovebirds." he said dryly, knowing fully well the response he'd get back.

"We're not lovebirds!" they both shouted at him. He rolled his eyes and did not respond. Sam and Danny, both flustered, said nothing as well as they continued on. Eventually Danny spoke again after composing himself.

"I think we're almost here. I can see it."

_It_ happened to be Clockwork's tower. The trio had figured if anyone had an answer to the problem, it was him. It was vague at a distance, but it became clearer as they approached. Finally they pulled up, got out of the speeder, and entered the tower. Two observants were already waiting at the door, and as soon as they thrust it open, they spoke.

"Clockwork is expecting the three of you. Come." With a shared look, they began to follow the observants through the tower, which was much larger than it appeared on the outside. Clocks and screens and all sorts of trinkets lined the walls as they ventured through, and finally they got to a large corridor when the observants stopped and flew off. Clockwork was facing them, shifting from an old man to a child.

"Welcome," he said calmly, "I know the nature of your business. William the Forgotten."

"William the who?" Danny asked.

"Have any of you heard of the Ninja of Norrisville?" the ghost inquired. All three nodded.

"Of course, how could we not?" Tucker replied, "The Ninja's known worldwide. Why?"

Clockwork sighed. "You all must listen closely and carefully. What I am about to tell you is usually knowledge strictly for the Ninja. As such, you cannot speak a word of any of this to anyone. Do you understand?" They nodded. "Good. The Ninja had been around for a long time, but it isn't the same person. Every four years a new one is chosen. Way back when in the eighteenth century, a ninja was almost done with his four-year duty. He was good and did his job, but he suffered from a flaw that was fatal in the end."

"What was it?" Sam's eyes were wide with curiosity.

"Pride and cockiness. He believed he was invincible. So he attempted to fight a monster without the Ninja suit. What happened was he got killed in the attempt. His girlfriend immediately took over so his enemy did not win, but William- that was his name- was plunged into the Ghost Zone." Clockwork shook his head and sighed.

"So why bother everyone else? How is it our fault?" Tucker asked.

"You'll see why soon enough." Clockwork said simply and calmly.

"Okay," Danny looked up at Clockwork, who had now shifted into an old man. "so where's his lair? How do I defeat him?" he snapped impatiently. Clockwork held up a hand.

"Patience, Daniel. He's creating more of his own soldiers by the minute, and to rush in there unprepared with just your two friends is dangerous and will result in failure. No. You need to ally yourself with the Ninja and the American Dragon. Together your powers are enough to stop him permanently. When the time comes, I will pinpoint his location for you."

Danny groaned, but nodded in disappointment. Clockwork knew all, and if that was the best option, he would just agree. The master of time was a bit proud of Danny for this. He knew he would be upset that he couldn't go fight right away, but he was mature enough to acknowledge the master of time's wisdom. Sam finally popped a question that had been nagging the minds of the three friends.

"Who's the American Dragon?" Sam asked, crossing her arms.

"Better yet, _what's_ the American Dragon?" Tucker furthered the question, glancing at Danny. His friend shrugged, confirming he didn't know any more than Tucker did. Clockwork approached a screen on the wall and waved his staff over it. On it came an aerial view of a marketplace of sorts filled with all sorts of magical, mythical creatures; centaurs, mermaids, goblins, fairies, wizards, and more. All three of the friends crowded around the screen. Their eyes went wide and their jaws loose, pulling closer and staring as creatures went about their business.

"This is also a secret that I share with very few. There is a magical community all across the world. There are also humans who are dragons, capable of transforming into a dragon to defend the magical community." He nodded with a smile at his own words. "Each country or region has their own dragon to defend them. The United States has recently gotten their first American Dragon." He waved his staff again and changed the screen to Jake Long, who transformed into a dragon with waves of a strange blue smoke rolling over his skin, leaving scales in its wake.

The watching teenagers were mystified. "He lives in New York and that's the next place going to be attacked by the soldier imps. You're going to get him and Randy Cunningham, the new Ninja, and work together."

Danny cocked his head and rubbed the back of his neck. "But how? Both of those places are in opposite directions from Amity Park and hours away. It'd be difficult to bring them both to my home."

"I thought ahead." Clockwork clapped his hands and an observant appeared, handed him two shiny badges, and faded away. The badges were beautiful; one red had the mark of the Ninja, and the other was in the shape of a Chinese dragon. He gave them to Danny. "These have been enchanted so the dragon brooch will teleport you to Jake and back to your room at your home, and the other teleports you to Randy Cunningham and also back to your room. They can bring more than one person with them if used when someone else is hanging onto you. Give them to their respective heroes and if you work together, you can stop William the Forgotten."

Sam approached and looked over them. "Why don't Tucker and I head back to your house while you go get the others and we'll meet up in your room?" she suggested. Danny nodded.

"Sounds good."

Sam and Tucker left the tower, and Danny was about to activate the Ninja's brooch. Clockwork spoke once more. "Randy and his friend Howard, who will also want to come with, won't be too difficult to persuade to come along. However, Jake Long and his grandfather will be more difficult. Promise to have a word with the Dragon Council, even if you have no idea what that is, and to bring Jake back by six p.m. His grandfather will allow it, although reluctantly."

"Got it."

"Good luck."

Danny concentrated and rubbed his thumb over the mark of the Ninja. To his surprise, he was engulfed immediately by green light and the next thing he knew he was in Randy Cunningham's messy bedroom, being stared at by two dumbfounded teenagers.


	5. Chapter 5

Randy and Howard were shaking, eyes wide. Both pairs of eyes were locked onto Danny, who rubbed the back of his neck and blushed. His eyes drifted around the room and then back to them. "Um...Randy Cunningham? The Ninja?"

That surprised them. They recoiled and Randy blinked a few times before talking. "...How...how did you know that? Who are you?"

"He's Danny Phantom, dude!" Howard whispered sharply. Danny nervously chuckled.

"There's this...er...ghost in the Ghost Zone who told me about you. And this must be your friend, er...what's your name?" Danny asked Howard. The boy yelped.

"I'm...I'm H-Howard Weinerman, Mr. Phantom, sir!"

Danny this time finally laughed. "You don't have to call me sir. I'm your age." he chuckled. Randy frowned.

"How can that be? You're a ghost, you must be really old." he said. The ghost boy shook his head.

"No. I'm your age. Can you two keep a secret?" They both quickly nodded. Danny scanned the room for anywhere where anyone else could be looking and then looked to them again. A bright ring surrounded him and passed over him, transforming him into his human form, black hair and blue eyes. Both of the boys gasped, eyes even wider than before. Randy stuttered a second.

"...Holy cheese! You're..."

"I'm a human. Yeah. More specifically, half ghost." Danny's hand covered his face as he blushed. "I'm Danny Phantom. But my real name is Danny Fenton." His other arm wrapped around his waist and his eyes drifted away from them. Randy and Howard stared at him more, taking in his features.

He was just like them. An awkward teenage boy. Randy pulled himself together and was brave enough to approach him. "So, um...Danny Fenton? How did this happen? How long have you been like..." Randy gestured to him, not sure which word to use. Howard walked to Randy's side.

"Like...half ghost?" Howard finished for him. Danny cleared his throat and returned his eyes to them.

"I've been like this for about a year. And what happened was..." He sighed. This was never an easy tale to repeat. "...my parents were trying to create a portal to the Ghost Zone in my basement-"

"Oh, that's so honkin' bruce!" Randy exclaimed. Danny and Howard glared at him and he gave a weak laugh. "Sorry. Continue."

Danny rolled his eyes. "My parents are ghost hunters, by the way. They were, as I said, trying to create a portal to the Ghost Zone. But when they plugged it in, it didn't work. When they were out of the house with my older sister, my friends asked me to show them the defunct portal."

"I bet it's a lab accident. Lab accidents in comics always lead to superpowers." Howard said in a hushed tone. Danny picked up his words and silenced. Howard sighed. "Sorry."

"It's okay. Anyways, my friends Sam and Tucker wanted to see the portal. I showed them and Sam said I should check it out, saying there had to be all sorts of cool stuff on the other side. I gave in and she-"

"Sam's a girl?" Randy asked.

"That's a boy name!" Howard furthered. Danny rolled his eyes. _Such a newbie hero team. _

"Her full name's Samantha Victoria Manson. But don't **ever **call her that, because she'd kill you. And I've been friends with her for, like, ever." A peaceful smile came on his face, which both the Ninja and Howard noted as they narrowed their eyes and smirked. They both began to snicker at him. Danny snapped out of his reverie and his face went entirely red.

"Sam and Danny, sittin' in a tree..." Randy sang. Danny groaned.

"You guys have literally known me for about ten minutes and you're already doing this? Really?"

"Yep." Randy confirmed. Danny couldn't chase away the red from his face and he looked down at his feet.

"_Anyways_, she tossed me a jumpsuit. I pulled it on and went into the portal. I wasn't looking where I was going and ended up pushing the on button on the inside. Next thing I knew I was being electrocuted and I woke up later on the floor of the lab with both of my friends freaking out. The rest is history."

"Ow." Howard winced. "That sounds like it hurts."

"It did. It hurt a lot." The red finally fled from the ghost boy's face and a forlorn memory whipped through his mind. He shook his head. "Anyways, you both probably have an idea of why I'm here. Those...imp things. I have more of an explanation as to what's going on, but it's safer to talk at my house." He pulled the Ninja badge from his pocket and held it up as the boy stared at the glistening badge, on which the sunlight danced as it met its surface. "This here is a teleportation device. It will bring you right back to Randy's room and to my house whenever you please. After I get you to my house, I'm going after the other member of our trio. His name's Jake Long, and it'll be a lot easier to explain when he's with us."

"Hold on. I'm not going anywhere without Howard." Randy protested.

"Yeah! The Ninja's my best friend, and he's fighting with me." Howard finished. Danny smiled.

"That's not a problem. You can come with, Howard. I had figured on it. This badge takes as many people as who's touching who's holding onto it. So just hold on tight and we'll be off. I'll bring you both back here at around six. We'll have our first meeting on how to beat the enemy. Are either of you in?"

Randy and Howard shared a look and then turned their back to Danny and huddled together to talk. "I like him. I say we do it." Randy said.

"I know, but we just met him," Howard whispered, "I like him too, but..."

"We don't have a choice. It's him or let the world suffer from those imps." Randy snapped. Howard gave in and nodded.

"For once, I guess you're right. Let's go." They turned back to Danny and nodded. "We'll go."

"Just...um...let me tell my parents I'm working on a school project outside the house until six." Randy said. He ran off to do as such and then came back. "We're ready."

"Okay. Hold on tight." They grabbed onto him and Danny concentrated and rubbed his thumb over the badge. Both boys gasped as the light engulfed them, and within seconds it faded and they were in Danny's room. Sam and Tucker were sitting on the bed, and they both grinned when the three came into view.

"You got the Ninja! Good job," Tucker said, tapping on a laptop with adventure logs. Then he scrutinized Howard. "and you brought with you...?"

"Howard. My name's Howard Weinerman." he said proudly. Tucker nodded.

"Okay. I'm assuming you're friends with Randy and part of his little superhero crew, like Sam and I are with Danny." He typed the information up. Sam stood up.

"Did you explain to them about your secret? I would guess so. You're in human form." she said. She then glared icily at Randy and Howard, who were surprised and backed up from her stare. "Let me make something crystal clear. If either you _ever_ breathe a word of Danny's identity to anyone, I'll-"

"Relax, Sam, he's explained everything. Even his undying love for you, which we also will not share." Randy said. Danny and Sam both gasped and turned bright crimson.

"That's a lie! I told them nothing of the...the sort!" Danny snapped.

"I know! Because...we're not a couple! Or lovebirds!" Sam furthered. The ninja and his friend, both done with their mission of embarrassment, took a seat on the bed. With that, they ignored Sam and Danny's mortified glares. Howard whistled as he took in the room.

"You're a space nut, Phantom?"

"That's bruce." Randy complimented. That earned them a strange look from the others.

"Who's Bruce?" Tucker asked. Randy shook his head.

"No, no, bruce is what we say when something's cool. Like...the Ninja is so honkin' bruce, for example." he explained. Danny scoffed.

"I heard your lingo at your place. No idea where you picked it up, but I guess if you're happy..." he trailed off. Howard frowned.

"Okay, so we've got a ninja and a ghost boy in the same room, and our _lingo's_ the weird thing? What the juice?"

By now the three had just given up and Sam turned back to Danny. "Anyways, you better go get the American Dragon. Tucker and I will explain everything to Randy and Howard about Jake Long while you're off."

"Gotcha. Here, give this to them while I'm gone." Danny handed Sam the badge and took out the other Chinese dragon badge. With another flash he was gone, and Sam handed the object to Randy. He and his friend gave the item a fascinated stare.

"So..." Howard started.

"Honkin'..." Randy continued.

"_Bruce!_" They both shouted.


	6. Chapter 6

Danny found himself in an electronics shop. It was messy and quiet, and it appeared as if no one was in. A bit confused and worried that somehow the badge put him in the wrong place, he looked around a bit more. His eyes found the door, which had a bell above it to announce customers. Danny jiggled the door and rang the bell, and within seconds a short, elderly Chinese man hobbled into the room. He looked up at Danny with a smile.

"Hello! I am Lao Shi. Never had a customer, never had a sale. Are you looking for something?" he asked. He pulled a stool over and sat upon it, patiently staring at the boy. Danny shrugged awkwardly and forced a smile.

"Um, sir, is Jake Long available?"

Lao Shi raised an eyebrow. "He's busy at the moment. What is this regarding?"

"Oh...how do I say this? _Ask_ this? Er..." Danny shrugged and cleared his throat. "I...I'm aware your grandson is the American Dragon." Unfortunately, that had not been what Lao Shi wanted to hear. His eyes widened and then he glared at Danny.

"Jake is busy." he repeated coldly, "What is your business and who are you? What do you know?"

Danny frowned. "I'm sorry, sir, I should've introduced myself first. My name is Danny Fenton. I'm from Amity Park." He looked around for anyone who might see and looked back to the old man. "I'm secretly Danny Phantom." With that, he transformed into his ghost half. Lao Shi stared at him without blinking. "And I'm here because I wanted to talk to your grandson about temporarily teaming up to fight off the monsters as of late."

Lao Shi, who had seen many magical creatures and things in his life, was not terribly shocked at all by Danny. However, he was undoubtedly suspicious of him, and he needed to know more. He raised his voice. "_**Jake!**_" he shouted. Almost instantly three teenagers ran in, and then stopped short and crashed into each other as Danny came into view. As they stared at him, wide-eyed, he waved, arm halfway up.

"Um, hi?" he asked more than said. "...Jake Long? The American Dragon?"

Jake's eyebrows were knit close and he frowned. "How do you know my name and who I am?" he demanded, crossing his arms. Behind him, Fu Dog peeked in from the back room and saw Danny. The dog walked out calmly standing on two legs. Danny jumped in surprise when he saw him. Fu smiled.

"Hey there, how ya doing?" he asked. Danny blinked, cocking his head to the side.

"You're...you're a talking dog."

"And you're a ghost. How about that?" Fu Dog patted him on the back and joined Lao Shi, who gave Fu a disapproving stare. Trixie placed her hands on her hips, giving Danny a stern but not aggressive look.

"How much do you _actually_ know about the magical world, ghost kid?"

"Yeah, I mean, you just saw a talking dog and was actually really surprised." Spud pointed out. Danny shrugged.

"Not a lot." He transformed back into human form. "I've only been like this a year, half-ghost I mean, and I just found out about you guys today from another ghost. So...yeah."

The reaction to his true form had been significantly less dramatic than when he talked to Randy and Howard. Everyone seemed only mildly surprised, and even then they got over it almost instantly. Too long had they seen odd things, and Danny's secret was hardly interesting to them. In fact, the lack of reaction surprised Danny more than anyone else.

This resulted in Trixie giggling. "Look at him, he thinks we're gonna be shocked by this." She approached him and slapped him on the back. He grunted and Trixie looked back to her friends. "Isn't he just adorable, thinkin' he'd surprise us?"

Danny glared at her. "Gimme a break, I just found out about all of this today. I'm doing this because I need your help. I've already teamed up with the Ninja of Norrisville-"

"You did _**what**_?!" Lao Shi interrupted. Danny blanched and backed away, looking frightened and embarrassed by the elder dragon's reaction. "The Ninja is not supposed to find out about the magical community until he finished his four year term, if at all! Even then, it's _**only**_ for the best of the best ninjas! That knowledge is almost never given out to them!"

"...He and his friend are both helping me." Danny admitted sheepishly. Lao Shi groaned, and ran a hand over his face in exasperation. Fu patted Lao Shi on the shoulder, abstaining from speech. Jake's arms unfolded.

"And you're here to ask for me to team up with you?" he asked.

"For _us_ to team up with you?" Spud furthered. Danny smiled weakly.

"Yeah." He revealed the dragon badge. "This is a teleportation device. It will take you from my home in my room to this shop. With it we can work together to stop the guy responsible for this havoc."

Lao Shi narrowed his eyes. "Where exactly did you hear all of this?"

Danny shrugged. "The Ghost Master of Time, Clockwork. He told me to come here. Has the magical world heard of him?"

"We have," Fu Dog confirmed, "it's just that no one's seen him in thousands of years except for_ you_. He's _very_ secretive and no one even knows how to get to him. Except for _**you**_."

Jake frowned and looked towards his grandfather. "He wouldn't have given the ghost kid this information if it wasn't serious. It's, um, probably more serious than we realize, G."

"How do you even know him?" Lao Shi snapped again. Danny grimaced in response.

"A while ago, I was in some serious trouble. In the end he saved me. It's a long and depressing story. He told me now that I must team up with Jake and the Ninja or else we're doomed." he explained. Seeing Lao Shi not looking any more pleased, he continued. "He told me that the magical community has wanted to speak with me for awhile. I promise that I will agree to let the Dragon Council ask me and my friends anything they want and swear to whatever they want." He grinned. "I'll give the badge to Jake. He'll be able to come back here whenever he wants with his friends. I promise not to say anything about the magical world, and I'll send Jake home at around six."

Fu turned to his friend. "You know that the secretive old guy wouldn't have allowed any of this if it wasn't necessary. I say allow it."

"I agree." Jake said proudly. "With the Ninja, the Am-Drag, and the Phantom working together, we can stop anything." Trixie and Spud shared a look and then turned back to Danny and nodded. Outvoted and outmatched, Lao Shi looked away. He muttered something to himself in Mandarin and finally glared again at Danny.

"Fine! _Go!_ Get to work so you can stop this as soon as possible," he snapped, "and the Ninja and his friend are going to have a word with the Dragon Council as well. Now _go_!"

"Sweet!" Jake said. Danny beamed.

"Thank you so much, sir, I really appreciate you allowing Jake to come!"

Lao Shi said something in Mandarin again and went into the back room, irritated all the while. Danny held the badge out. "Alright, everybody hold onto me and we'll be off." The three grabbed onto him. Danny concentrated, rubbed his thumb over the badge, and instantly they were in Danny's room and light faded.

Howard was playing with a McFist pad while Randy was face-first with crossed eyes in the open Nomicon. Sam and Tucker were chattering. Everyone looked towards them as they appeared. Tucker spoke. "American Dragon, Jake Long and his friends...what are your names?"

"Trixie Carter."

"Arthur P. Spudinski, but call me Spud."

"Okay." Tucker wrote it all down on the laptop. Sam crossed her arms and stood up.

"And you're willing to keep this a secret too?" her eyes narrowed. Spud threw his hands up.

"I'm not saying anything. I haven't said anything about Jake. And I'm not gonna say anything now." he said politely. Sam's gaze turned to Trixie. The girl rolled her eyes.

"Yes, yes, I'm keeping this all very hush-hush. Relax."

Sam grumbled. Howard got up, and Randy awoke from the Nomicon and got up too. Randy put out his hand and shook hands with all three of them. "Hey, I'm Randy Cunningham, ninth grade ninja."

Howard shook hands as well. "And I'm Howard Weinerman, Ninja's best friend."

"S'up? I'm the American Dragon." Jake stated. Howard crossed his arms.

"Yeah, about that...like, is the American Dragon just a title for a ninja or is it literal?'

Jake smirked. "I forgot, I haven't even shown you my awesome transformation. Danny's so far is just a pretty light show."

"Hey!" Danny protested, "I have a cool transformation!"

"Yeah, it's very pretty. But do you have _Sailor Moon ribbons_?" Randy asked. He pulled the Ninja mask out of his pocket and pulled it over his head. He was wrapped by ribbons and covered in a Ninja outfit instantly. "I am the best and have the coolest one!" the freshman proudly declared.

None of the other room occupants looked very impressed. Danny, Sam, Tucker, Trixie, Jake, and Spud had all seen weirder things, and Howard had seen this ninja transformation time and time again. Jake merely snorted. "You think that's cool? Just watch _this!_"

His eyes turned slit-like. A blue, smokey aura surrounded his body, leaving scales and wings behind. When it passed, a bright red dragon was before them. Danny crossed his arms.

"Seen it." he said, "The Master of Time showed me and I've seen ghost dragons do something kind of like that."

"You're just jealous." Trixie said, crossing her arms and smirking. Jake nodded in agreement. Sam rolled her eyes again.

"Whatever." she said simply. Tucker hadn't even looked up to watch it as he typed, disinterested in what was going on. Everyone had seen too much that day to be shocked. That is, except for Howard and Randy.

The two boys were staring, mouths agape and eyes wide as dinner plates. Both were breathing heavily. "Holy...cheese..." Randy muttered, almost too quietly to be audible. Howard threw a hand to his face and simply stared while Randy stared too. By this point Jake was getting uncomfortable.

"Can you guys stop? It's not that shocking."

"It totally is! There's a freaking dragon right in front of our faces _and that's not supposed to be shocking?!_" Howard shrieked.

"What he said! What the _juice_?!" Randy exclaimed. "_Boom_! This is so..._so_..."

"Bruce!" Howard declared. Jake turned back and smirked at Danny.

"I think I win the coolest transformation contest."

Danny scoffed. "Whatever. Let this meeting come to order."


	7. Chapter 7

"Let this meeting come to order."

Everyone found a place to sit, on the bed or on bean bag chairs Danny had laying around the room. Eyes turned to Danny, and he cleared his throat. "Welcome to the first meeting of...whatever this is. We know we're being attacked by monsters, and New York is next. But most of you are unaware of who's behind it."

"Actually, we know." Randy said, waving a hand. Howard nodded.

"Yeah, his Nomicon already told us about this dude who got killed being the Ninja and went crazy." he said calmly. Danny blinked.

"Well, um..."

"We don't know." Jake said, "But it sounds like a ghost went crazy because of what they," He pointed to Randy and Howard, "said. And we need to stop him. What's this dude's name?"

"William the Forgotten. Clockwork told me."

"Who's Clockwork?" Randy asked. Danny frowned.

"The Ghost Master of Time. You'll probably meet him when he finally tells me where exactly this guy is."

"Hold up, you don't even know _where_ he is?" Trixie blurted. Danny glared at her.

"Clockwork said that we had to learn to work together before he would tell us or something or other. I wanted to go after him too but he said no. So, no. The best we can do is just do our best."

Spud shrugged calmly. "Alright."

"No, it's not alright!" Trixie refuted, "How do we know this weird, mysterious ghost guy is actually gonna help us?" she questioned. Sam looked toward her.

"Clockwork has helped us before. We trust him. He knows what he's doing. How else would we have gotten to either of you groups of people?"

Everyone grumbled but didn't bother to protest further. Danny nervously clapped his hands together. "So I think we should meet and practice once a day. Maybe even get each other during the day if we get attacked to help each other. Those badges can help."

"We don't need to be practicing, we need to be fighting, and-" Randy's Nomicon glowed. He flipped it open and his face went blank and his head dropped into it. Everyone else just gawked at the scene.

"Is he-" Tucker was cut off by Howard.

"Just give him a few minutes, he'll snap out of it."

Randy fell through the Nomicon, yelling in surprise. Pictures and words flew past him as he crashed and groaned. He stood up, eyes narrowed. "Nomicon, what the juice? We can't waste our time, we have to go fight this guy right now! We don't have time to practice!"

Immediately words formed before him, glowing and beautiful. He read aloud. "Fighting without preparing results in inevitable defeat." The freshman scoffed. "Nomicon, come on, it can't be that hard to go in, fight, and win. We're wasting time."

The words faded and Randy was sucked back out the way he came, yelling all the while. He came back to the real world. As soon as he lifted his head off the book, it snapped shut and its glow faded. Everyone else just looked at him and Randy, embarrassed, shoved the Nomicon to his side. Tucker finally whistled.

"Wow, that book has an _attitude_, doesn't it?" he pointed out.

"It does not!" Randy was blushing. Howard snickered.

"It totally does. What did you do to make it mad?"

"Nothing! I just, um, said that preparation was a waste of time."

"Did it tell you otherwise?" Sam asked crossly. Randy frowned.

"Um..."

"Hah! It did, didn't it?" Jake said with a laugh. "I guess that's proof enough. The Master of Time and an angry book."

"And this is why technology is the best. A computer won't shut you out of something just because you disagree with it." Tucker stated proudly, playing a game of Solitaire on the laptop.

"Technology is good, but magic has its good points too. A mix of the two is the best." Spud said. Tucker glanced at him.

"No offence, but what do you know about technology?"

Spud shrugged. "Some stuff, I guess." Tucker rolled his eyes and went back to typing. Spud shared a knowing glance with Jake and Trixie, and they simply smiled. Danny looked at a clock hanging in the room.

"Alright, I think we have a little time to practice, so-"

"Danny! Who's up there with you?" Maddie's voice rang. Danny jumped and grimaced.

"Um, Sam and Tuck!"

"Who else? I hear other people up there." She insisted. Danny groaned. Randy and Howard snickered a little, and Jake, Trixie, and Spud weren't quite sure how to react. Danny raised his voice.

"Just some friends from school! We're working on a school project!" He claimed. He heard his mother coming up the stairs, and he quickly turned to everyone. "Act natural!" Danny put on an exaggerated smile as his mom knocked.

"Can I come in?"

"Um, sure!" Danny opened the door, revealing his mother. Anyone in the room not used to her was immediately surprised. She was dressed in a blue hazmat suit like it was everyday clothes, and for her, it was. The mother looked around at the other teenagers. with a kind and inviting smile. She leaned down to Danny and whispered.

"Next time tell me before you have friends over, okay?"

"Okay."

She stood up straight. "Hi there, kids, it's nice to meet you! I'm Mrs. Fenton, Danny's mom. Danny, why don't you introduce me to them?"

Danny blushed. "Um, sure. That's Randy, Howard, Jake, Trixie, and Spud. They're coming over for a few days to work with us on a school project."

"Nice to meet you kids," Maddie said cordially, "I've got some cookies in the oven. Anyone want some?"

"N-no, I'm okay and we're gonna be going in, like..." Jake looked up at the clock. Ten minutes to six. "...ten minutes, Mrs. Fenton."

"We're good too." Trixie said hastily. Spud frowned.

"What if _I_ want one?"

"Oh, us too!" Howard and Randy waved excitedly. Howard talked for the two of them. "Can we have one to go for each of us? Please?" he begged.

"You betcha!" Maddie walked out the door. Danny exhaled.

"That was close."

"Danny?" Randy asked. Danny looked at him. "Does she, um, know about..." He gestured to Danny, unsure of what exactly to say. "...ghost powers?"

The half ghost sighed, sounding a little gloomy. "No. Neither of my parents know. My older sister Jazz knows, though. I think one day they'll find out, just...not today. Or any day soon." the boy explained. Randy and Howard shrugged, and Jake simply nodded. Trixie and Spud said nothing.

Everyone chatted a little longer about their plans for the next day's meeting, silencing only when Maddie came in and gave Spud, Randy, and Howard three cookies each. She left and they kept talking. Randy bit into his first cookie and grinned in ecstasy, eyelids drooping. "Oh, _man_," he uttered blissfully, "your mom is great at baking."

"I agree." Howard said, making a face exactly like that of Randy's as he licked off his fingers, removing any melted chocolate.

"I'm saving mine for later." Spud said, eyeing the bag of cookies in his hands. Trixie clapped her hands to get everyone's attention.

"Hey, we got about two minutes left. We oughta have a name for this group." she pointed out. Jake raised his hand.

"I already got one. The Am-Drags."

"Bo-ring," Randy refuted, "we ought to be the Ninja Squad."

"Both of you are wrong." Danny snapped with an eye roll. "We're Team Phantom. We've been Team Phantom for awhile."

Howard frowned. "Who died and put you in charge, Fenton?"

"_Hah_! I see what you did there." Randy snorted, immaturely snickering.

"I know. Geddit? Who _died_ and put _you_ in charge?" Howard added, laughing alongside his best friend. Danny stared at him, eyes narrowed.

"For one thing, I'm not _dead_. Secondly, I-"

"Boys, boys, calm down," Sam stated firmly, "you're all wrong, all of you. No; you're the Secret Trio."

"Secret Trio?" All three heroes asked in unison. Trixie grinned.

"Oh, I like that!"

"Yeah, me too!" Spud said.

"Because all of you have secrets to keep. Clever. I like it too." Tucker typed it up, already expecting it as the team name. Randy gave in first and smiled, arms crossed. His eyes half-lidded and his smile turned into a smirk.

"Danny's girlfriend is right. The Secret Trio's cool." Of course, everyone knew what the reaction from Danny and Sam would be from that statement.

"I'm not his girlfriend!"

"She's not my girlfriend!"

With a final laugh, Randy and Howard used the badge and disappeared. Jake and his friends waved and disappeared, officially ending the first meeting of the Secret Trio.


	8. Chapter 8

"Danny, you're flying too close to Jake! Move over a foot! Randy, hasten that footwork! Mind your scarf! Jake, watch out for that-" _BANG!_"-hoop..."

Sam had been criticizing practice for the last half hour. All three had been flying (or jumping) through hoops, shooting projectiles like fire or ectoblasts, and avoiding attacks in the lab while trying to sync movement if possible or necessary to each other's safety. They had all stopped when Jake had crashed into a hoop. The other two boys went to his aid and changed back to normal. Jake transformed back into his human form, grunted, sat up, and grasped his head. Randy turned his head to Sam, who was standing a few feet away, arms crossed.

"Sam, can we please stop? I'm so tired..." he whined.

Sam shrugged, feeling a rare mercy. "Fine, take a break. Howard!"

As Trixie and Spud headed off to Jake, Danny and Randy came forward. Howard jumped and gave a frightened look at Sam. "Yes?"

"It's come to my attention that you don't know how to utilize whatever magic Trixie and Spud sometimes are given to use or wrist-rays or other means of attack. We're gonna change that today."

Howard backed up. "Hold on now, I don't have that freaky magic stuff they do and I don't have those things you and Tucker have. I tend to just improvise with what I have at the time, like cinderblocks. I don't need any further training." he protested, already not liking where this was going. Randy snickered, and Howard glared at him and punched him in the arm. "Shut up, Cunningham."

"Oh, this is gonna be comedy gold..." Randy stated, rubbing his arm. "You just do your best, Howard."

"Screw you." Howard grumbled. Sam pulled what looked like lipstick from her pocket and tossed it to Randy's friend, who eyed it in confusion. "Um, what is this? Lipstick? Do I look like a girl?"

"What? Green's a good color on you, Howard." Randy said as Howard opened the tube. Howard finally just ignored him and looked at Sam and Tucker. Tucker smiled.

"No, it's a pocket ray. You can shoot it at stuff. It's also easy and convenient to use and hide. The wrist rays we'll show you later; in my opinion it's actually easier to master using to tube than it is the wrist ray." he explained. He smiled as Danny took his spot beside him. "Good job today, dude."

"Thanks, Tuck. Anyways, Tucker and Sam are right. You should practice with it."

"I don't understand _why_, though," Howard muttered, "I don't fight ghosts or magical things or really fight much. Sometimes I help Randy out, but I make do."

"And what if you're unarmed? Maybe you're in a tight situation with no cinderblocks or other means of attack?" Sam inquired, crossing her arms. "You never know when your friend is going to be in trouble. When he is, as a friend, ally, and keeper of his secret, it's your job to save him and back him up. Tucker!"

Tucker clicked a button on his PDA and from the wall came out practice targets, burned and singed from previous use. Randy stared in awe. "That's so bruce! You can take out this stuff with your PDA?"

"Yeah. I hooked it up so I can access a lot of this stuff with a single push of a button. Maybe I ought to show you how to use the lipstick." He put the PDA away and pulled out his own tube of what looked like lipstick. He opened it and pointed it at one of the targets and pressed a tiny button on it. It blasted and hit the center perfectly, leaving Randy and Howard gaping in awe. Tucker blew on the smoke coming out, twirled it, and put his away. "Sam and I have had a lot of practice. With some you can do that, too. Give it a try."

"Okay..." Howard nervously stood about ten feet away from the first target. He looked to Randy for support. His best friend grinned.

"You got this, Howard. You can do this."

"I do. I do got this..." Howard said, sounding a little unsure of himself. He held out the stick, arm shaking. Sam frowned.

"No, no, steady your hand and arm. If you're shaking you can end up hitting an ally instead of the villain or missing." Sam approached. "Randy, why don't you steady your friend's arm for him so he doesn't take someone's eye out?"

"Okay." Randy held onto Howard's arm and steadied it. "Fire!"

Howard pressed the button and, surprised by the impact, fell down, knocking Randy down with him. The blast bounced off the walls and rebounded off the floor, and flew towards Jake, Trixie, and Spud, who were all calmly ignoring the situation and chatting. They didn't even notice the little beam of energy until it hit Jake's rump.

His eyes widened and he yelped in pain, held his burnt bottom, and fell over to the floor. Trixie and Spud immediately knelt down to help him, Sam, Tucker, and Danny all cringed, and Randy was trying hard not to laugh. He was biting his lip and shaking, eyes alight with the laughter he held inside. Howard's face had gone red and he frowned. When Jake glared at him, he backed up and looked away.

"I am so sorry, dragon dude, I didn't mean to hit you! I swear!" he threw his hands up. "I just, um...missed the target."

Finally Randy's attempts to hold in his laughter failed and he began laughing so hard he was crying and couldn't make a sound. "Help me, I..." He struggled to talk, "I can't..." Breath was short. "I can't breathe!" He threw his fist at the ground and started pounding and then flipped over and clapped his hands together like a seal. Howard kicked him.

"Dude, stop, it's not that funny!" Howard seemed quite frightened of Jake's unimpressed glare, pupils slit like a reptile's. "Please don't turn into a dragon and kill me!" he whispered to himself so quickly and low that it was an inaudible statement. Trixie sighed.

"Jakey, it was just an accident. He didn't mean to hit you."

"Yeah, just let it go." Spud said. Jake finally relaxed and exhaled.

"It's okay. I forgive you, Howard." He ran a hand through his hair. "I've just been on edge because of those stupid...freaky...things! I was up last night at two in the morning chasing ten of them around because they destroyed at least ten thousand dollars worth of property in ten minutes. That and they broke some poor dude's arm. It was the first time they attacked New York City."

"I know how you feel," Danny said with a yawn, "I woke last night at three in the morning because I heard multiple car alarms go off. Little monsters destroyed multiple cars and destroyed some windows and attacked a couple walking home."

"I also woke up early. At one a.m." Randy stated, finally having stopped laughing, "Broke my teacher's car and actually destroyed the gym at my school. They're more than just a nuisance now, they're getting worse by the day and are coming more and more often."

Sam, Tucker, Trixie, Spud, and Howard finally realized how exhausted exactly the Secret Trio was. Howard frowned and put a hand on Randy's shoulder and looked at all of them. "I'm sorry to hear that. Listen, I'll try extra hard to master that ghost ray so we can kick ghost butt sooner. Right n-"

A puff of blue air came out of Danny's mouth. Those not accustomed to it gave him a funny look. "Are you cold?" Randy asked.

"It's ain't cold in here." Trixie pointed out. Spud shrugged.

"I don't know, it's kinda chilly, but, like, not that bad."

"No, it's not because I'm cold," Danny explained. "that happens when a ghost is near. Goin' Ghost!" He transformed and floated up. "I'll be right back. Got some butt to kick."

"I'll come with." Randy pulled on the Ninja mask and with a flurry of ribbons he was shrouded in the Ninja suit. "Use a hand?"

"Sure."

"I can help. Dragon up!" Jake shouted as he changed himself into a dragon. "I can fight and keep from being seen. Let's go!"

* * *

As it turned out, it was a group of about twenty imps that had made Danny's ghost sense go off. They had already destroyed public and private property, knocking over lampposts and toppling cars over. At least five were attacking and biting the Fentonworks sign. Danny phased through the roof and glared at them.

"Hey, uglies! Mind stopping what you're doing?"

Their attention turned to him and they all hissed and flew at him. Danny zapped one off the building, making it fade away into what seemed like nothingness, as all of them did upon being defeated. No body to search for clues. The other four went after and chased Danny. The alarmed ghost boy flew to pull them away from his home, and they were quite literally on his ghost tail. A flurry of fire came from a nearby alleyway, managing to set two on fire and make them fade away.

He'd have to thank Jake later; he was still being chased by two. Finally he stopped, thinking to try freezing them. His hands and eyes glowed a blue, and he got one and froze it, dropping it to the ground and leaving broken ice shards behind. The only one left latched onto his arm. Danny screamed and tried to shake it violently to buck it off.

The imp resisted and bit down on his arm, allowing green and red blood to flow out. He hissed in pain, eyes closed and wincing. Danny pulled his other arm back to punch it squarely in the face when someone kicked it off. The Ninja had jumped from the closest building and shoved the monster off with his feet, making it fade away. "You're welcome!" he shouted as he used his scarf to grab onto a window ledge and jump across the buildings, to the next source of monsters.

Danny cradled his aching and bleeding arm for a moment and then scowled. He would have to fight through the pain. He darted to where Randy was going. Only five were left now, the other ten taken out by Jake and Randy, who had handled five of their own imps while Danny was busy. The owners of the cars had fled indoors, watching frightfully as the heroes fought them off.

The half ghost in the group quickly froze two, who faded from view. Danny sighed; he had hoped somehow the ice would preserve it so they could investigate it. As Randy and Jake readied their final attack on hissing imps that were yet backing away, a flurry of green shots flew down upon the creatures. Screeches of pain came and they faded. The trio looked back up towards the source of the flurry, towards the rooftop of Fentonworks. Sam and Tucker held up their cooling wrist rays while Howard (looking surprised by his shot which had stopped one of them,) Trixie, and Spud held lipstick tubes.

All three retreated before anyone dared to approach them, back to Fentonworks.

* * *

Danny phased them through the walls into the lab. Everyone changed back to normal and Danny continued to hold his injured limb; the blood was mostly red, with some flecks of green floating in it. Jake grimaced. "Oh, dude, that looks _nasty_."

"Should we take you to the hospital?" Randy asked worriedly. Danny shook his head.

"No. It hurts, but it'll be okay. My parents always have a first aid kit in the lab in case they get hurt by any experiments." He went to a box on the wall and unlatched it, taking out some antiseptic, cotton balls, and gauze. "A little first aid does the job. That and I have super fast healing, so by the time we meet tomorrow, the wound should be mostly gone. Might be some slight scarring, but that'll fade within three days."

"Wow." Randy stated, sounding impressed, eyes wide. "Well, here, let me get you a wet wash cloth at least so you can clean up the blood..."

"I'll get it." Jake was about to retrieve it as their friends came back down from the ops center. Sam already had a wet pad in hand.

"I saw his wound. Danny, give me the antiseptic and gauze, I'll handle this. Sit down."

The half ghost did as instructed. Sam knelt down with him and wiped off the blood, tossed the pad into a nearby trash can and administered antiseptic around the wound. Danny hissed a little at the stinging but said nothing at all through Sam's work. Finally she wrapped up his arm and smiled. "You're good. Should be all healed within a few days."

"Thanks so much." Danny smiled at her and she blushed and beamed back. Their eyes were locked for a minute straight and finally Randy and Howard looked at each other and laughed.

"Lovebirds!" They shouted together.

_**"We're not lovebirds!"**_


	9. Chapter 9

As soon as Jake, Trixie, and Spud appeared back in Lao Shi's shop in New York City, they were set upon by Jake's grandfather. The elderly man had been waiting for them, staring intensely on the spot he knew they would appear. Immediately he walked over and stared up at them. "Trixie, Spud, you go home. Jake, you come with me. I need to speak with you."

"But they-" Jake was cut off.

"No buts. What I'm about to tell you is not confidential, but I'd rather speak to you in private before you relay any information. You can tell your friends all about it later as you see fit." he said firmly, giving a just as hard stare at Trixie and Spud. Although both of them looked a little insulted, they and Jake knew there would be no way to persuade Lao Shi otherwise. They bid the dragon master and student goodbye for the day and went promptly home.

Lao Shi turned the sign at the door from open to closed and began hastily walking to the backroom. "Come, come." he ushered. Jake followed obediently, and Fu Dog was already waiting inside the back, fiddling with a potion of some sort. He smiled.

"Hey, Jake, how are ya?" he asked kindly.

"I'm good, Fu. How about you?" Jake replied. Fu snorted and shrugged.

"Kind of had a run in with this three-headed dog in the market. I...may have flirted with her and she didn't like it. Bopped me on the nose good." He rubbed said part of his body. "A little sore, but I'm good."

"Hah! Sorry to hear that." Jake said and laughed. Lao Shi took a seat and frowned.

"Jake, pay attention and listen to me. Take a seat." Jake obeyed and quietly sat on the third stool in the room. Lao Shi crossed his arms. "I have some news. The Dragon Council was not at all happy to hear about this business with the Ninja and the ghost child."

"I'm not in trouble, am I?" Jake inquired, looking immediately worried. His grandfather shook his head.

"No, no, let me finish. It's not because of you, it's because the Ninja wasn't supposed to find out about our world so early, and the fact he has a friend who's also in the know. Both of them are going to talk to the Council separately from Daniel Fenton and his allies." His frown deepened. "They're going to get a firm talking-to about keeping this all a secret. There have been Ninjas in the past, specifically one in 1985, who abused their power and responsibility." The elder grimaced at the memory. "This is why they wait until their period as the Ninja is up to decide whether or not they are ready to be introduced to our community. The last time a ninja was introduced to our world was several hundred years ago. Randy Cunningham is going to have a close eye kept on him. Never before has a ninja so prematurely found out about us."

Jake smiled. "It's okay, Grandpa. The guy's actually okay. He's new, but he's a good guy and he's loyal. I like him."

"That is all good and well, but the Council won't be assured of that until they see his actions."

"Why not just erase his memory?" Fu Dog asked calmly, stirring his potion. Lao Shi sighed.

"That's out of the question. The council believes that the Ninja, Danny Phantom, and you, Jake, may have to team up again in the future. Removing the Ninja's memory would cause problems."

"Oh." Fu and Jake said simply, not quite sure how to respond. Fortunately, Lao Shi began to spoke about someone else. That someone else was Danny Fenton. What he had to say was good news, but he still looked displeased.

"However, good news for Daniel Fenton. He was previously suspected of crimes, like assault and theft." He shook his head. "With a little investigation, the Council has determined that for one of the crimes he was under the influence of a magical staff, since destroyed," The grandfather looked a little relieved at the word destroyed, "and was framed the other time. That was discovered easily; there are multiple signs pointing to possession of townspeople, namely the mayor. His further actions leave the impression he's maturing slowly but surely and apt to do the good thing." Jake grinned as his grandfather talked. "The friends who help him are from what can be observed just as loyal and good. With a little training the Council feels he could be a worthy and useful ally to keep the peace alongside us."

"I knew he was a good guy." Jake commented. "He's kinda awkward, but cool."

Lao Shi frowned. "I'm not sure if I trust him myself, but the fact he is in frequent contact with the elusive Master of Time himself is undeniable." A sigh. "That and the fact this powerful being who manages the very fabric of time _trusts_ him, _guides _him, and gives him information. Information that could be extremely dangerous if it fell in the wrong hands. He must be _**very**_ special if that sort of interest is taken in him. That's why the Council is so eager to speak with him." He nodded again. "He and his friends will have a meeting with the Dragon Council when you three complete your task. As for now, before you go home, speak with Fu Dog. He has something for you." The old man laughed a bit. The dragon master arose from his seat. "As for me, I have other business to attend to this evening. Make sure the shop door is locked when you leave."

He left, and Jake spun in his seat to Fu Dog, who was bottling the potion he was working on. He chuckled. "Everything went better than expected. Anyways, I know you probably wanna scurry on home, so here's what I got." Fu Dog pulled a scrap of paper from the nearby shelf full of alchemical ingredients and placed it before Jake. "This, Jake, could be the key to stopping the enemy."

Jake picked it up, skimming it. On the top of the page there was a drawing of a dragon's breath, a Ninja Rage fireblast, and a ghost's ectoblasts meeting. The end result was a huge explosion of energy, uncolored puffs of smoke surrounding it. Just as Jake looked to Fu for explanation, Fu was shoving potions into a bag. The magical dog explained without looking up. "When you and the Ninja and Danny Phantom combine your powers, you're capable of creating a huge reaction of energy. If done at the right time, this could take out William the Forgotten. Permanently."

"Wow."

"Wow is right. But you'll need practice to get it right," Fu said. He grunted as he forced a cork on another vial. "otherwise it won't work right. The blasts have to meet at the exact moment and exact point, or else nothing happens from what I've researched. Take it along tomorrow and practice. And these are for you all," He handed the bag of potions to Jake. "this is everything you might need for your adventure, cleared by your grandfather for me to give to you. Invisibility potions, healing potions, sunlight potions, you name it, it's in there and I labeled all of them. Use them wisely." Fu winked at the teenager. "And I spent all day making them, so you're welcome."

"Thanks, Fu! Where would I be without you?"

"Probably dead, Jake." Fu Dog let out a bark of laughter. Jake's frown made him stop. "Ah, I'm just messing with you, kid. That's all. You can go home." He clapped his paws together. "Oh, and that reminds me. Your mother called earlier and asked me to remind you to clean up your room. Better get on that."

Just as Fu Dog walked away from relaying the message, Jake let out a whine. "Aww, man!"

* * *

"This is absolutely _nuts_," Howard said, pacing back and forth through Randy's room, "I mean, I still can't get over it. Dragons, ghosts, and a Ninja."

Randy nodded understandingly. "I get you, Howard. It's a lot to take in. Even for me."

"_A lot_ to take in?" Howard snapped, turning to his best friend. "This is the ultimate, craziest, brucest thing _ever_ to take in! It's so hard to take in it's like I haven't even taken it in _at all!_ What the _juice?!_" Howard plopped down on a rolling chair and sighed. "And somehow I feel like this is just the tip of the iceberg. What more can there be? What more, Cunningham?"

The Ninja shrugged. "I dunno. I don't know what more there can be, not any more than you." He pulled the Nomicon out of his backpack, which was still silent. "There's probably more than we understand that we're going to see or maybe not see at all." He glared at the Nomicon. Howard crossed his arms.

"Is it still not talking to you?"

"No, it's not!" Randy yelled, exasperated. "I've tried apologizing to it and the Nomicon's not said a thing." He looked at it forlornly. "Oh, Nomicon, I'm really sorry I refuted what you said. I'm just stressed from all of...this. I don't like seeing people get hurt or my friends get hurt, like I saw Danny today." He frowned deeply. "And I want to know, is there anything else you can tell me that might help?"

The Nomicon was silent again for a second before it came to life. It flashed red brightly and flipped open of its own accord, allowing Randy's eyes to go crossed and his body to relax completely, dropping him off of his bed, head landing on the Nomicon. Howard smiled slightly and turned on Randy's gaming console. A few rounds of Grave Puncher while Randy was in the Nomicon couldn't hurt.

Randy was overjoyed as he saw himself falling through the Nomicon's words, pages, and letters. As he landed gently, he beamed and stood up. "Thank you so much, Nomicon! I promise not to ever make you mad again. Please, can you help me?"

Images flashed and came. A vast green plane surrounded Randy, and he suddenly began to float, not feeling any ground below him any longer. He squealed in surprise at the sudden floating sensation and quickly calmed himself. Three images appeared. A Ninja, a red dragon, and a white ghost. The Ninja went into Ninja Rage mode, the dragon pulled his head back to release a blast of fire, and the ghost's hands glowed green with energy. All released their attacks and at the same time they collided, causing a green orb of fire to form. The three pulled back as it burst in a glorious blaze of green and red tinged with orange and yellow. It faded, and the three heroes came back.

Randy's eyes were as wide as the moon itself, and he squeaked slightly in awe. "Oh, that's so _bruce_! Can I- _we_- do that? That'd stop anything in its tracks!"

The image of the Ninja faded and Randy was suddenly dressed in his Ninja outfit, feeling straps of fabric fly towards him and coat him in black and red. The ghost and dragon turned their eyes to him, waiting for him to move. He laughed. "Ah, target practice! On it, Nomicon! I got this! _Ninja Rage!"_

His suit reversed in colors and fire tickled his gloves. He shot it and the other two fired their powers as well. That is, only to have Randy's shot of fire miss theirs completely. Randy gawped for a second and then exhaled deeply. This was going to be much harder than it looked.

* * *

Danny, Sam, and Tucker lounged in Fentonworks, in Danny's room. They were chattering softly as the sun began to set outside. It was an hour after dinner or so; Danny had claimed to his parents he managed to cut his arm by accident when he tripped and scraped his arm across a particularly sharp table corner. They bought the excuse and invited Danny's friends to eat with them. Dinner was over eventually and the three of them retreated upstairs.

Sam took to investigating Danny's wound, cradling his arm to examine it. "How's it? Any pain?"

"It's fine; no pain right now. In fact, let's see how much it healed. I bet I can take off the wrapping now." Danny phased off the bandage, hoping not to cause bleeding again, and revealed his wound. It was already scabbed over, and taking the bandage off had luckily not pulled off the scab. Triumphantly, he grinned and tossed the soiled wraps into the trash. "See?"

"Lucky." Tucker whined as he looked up from his PDA. Sam blushed a little and sat back down in a blue bean bag chair.

"So what are we doing tomorrow? More practice?" she asked.

"I dunno," Danny replied, "I feel like we're not getting very far with the whole practicing thing. Maybe we should start looking around the Ghost Zone for help, and-" He silenced and Sam and Tucker too as they froze in time. Clockwork appeared with a blue swirl and hour hand, materializing with three medallions in hand. He placed them around all three teenagers, and Danny continued his speech. "-talk to Clock..." He stared at the ghost smirking at him no more than a few feet away. "...oh, hi, Clockwork."

"The pleasure is mine, Daniel. Anyways, I've come here because it's time I dispense more information to you." He waved his staff and little figures appeared in mid-air, Jake, Danny, and Randy all in their respective other forms. Each of them released a blast of energy and it collided, causing the same scene of a green orb of fire exploding. All three teenagers looked at the scene in fascination. Clockwork waved his staff again and it faded. "It's time that you all learn to combined your power," he explained, "because if you three do, it will be enough to stop William the Forgotten if done at the right time."

"Woah." Tucker murmured. He looked up at the Master of Time. "But why show us this now? Not earlier?"

"Because, Tucker," Clockwork said, "all of you had to get used to working together enough to be able to start working on this. You had to learn each others' strengths and weaknesses, as we all have. Randy and Jake have had this information released to them this evening as well through their own sources. I came to tell you this myself."

"Well, great." Sam exclaimed excitedly, "We can get to work on it immediately."

"That's what I want to hear. But keep in mind, it's harder than it looks, and it's destructive, so if you do it at the wrong place and the wrong time...you could hurt more than save more people." A nod. "Patience is the key."

"Is that it?" Danny asked. Clockwork grinned.

"It is. Now, time in!" He pressed the staff, and the outside world began moving normally. The ghost plucked the medallions off the teenagers and exited with the same blue swirl he used earlier. The three all looked rather pleased, until Danny's ghost sense went off. The sounds of numerous car alarms screamed in his ears and shrieks and a cry of pain came from below in the streets.

Danny scowled. "Well, peace didn't last long. Goin' ghost," he transformed, "excuse me, I have some more imps to fight."


End file.
